1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to appliances for orthopedic surgery and more specifically to devices to cover the ends of splinting rods used to assist in the healing of bone fractures and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Orthopedic splinting rods have gained wide application in orthopedic surgical procedures. Initially used for large fractures such as hip pinnings, these rods have become ever more frequently used and are now commonplace for many types of procedures seeking to properly set bone fragments o segments and fix the position of these segments during the knitting process. As these splinting rods have become ever more widely used, problems have been noticed with respect to the presence of the rod in the patient or extending out of the patient during the prolonged period of healing. The end of the rod is cut, often by clipping, to shape so as not to protrude for an extended length. But the end is often sharp and, if inside the body, can produce extensive trauma to surrounding tissues by causing lacerations and/or also acting as a site for infection. If the end of the rod is positioned outside the body as, for example, in the pinning of finger bones or toe bones, the ends of the rods can lacerate the surrounding tissue mass, such as adjoining fingers or toes, etc., and, again, are a hazard.
Many attempts have been made to provide appropriate covers for these types of splints, but none of them have been totally successful. An example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,560 to Schultz.
The ideal device should be small, light, securely held to the end of the orthopedic splint and be easy to apply and difficult to remove. Many of the prior devices achieve some or many of these objectives. However, the cost and ease of manufacturing is another factor which has to be considered and simplicity of the product is also of paramount importance both from the standpoint of reliability, ease of application, and also from the aspect of per unit cost.